Cities in developing countries
Distinguishing characteristics
Numerous differences exist between the cities ofdeveloping countries and those in the developedworld. In particular, differences exist in their ability to adopt GIS technologies. Some important distinguishingcharacteristics of the cities in developingcountries which affect their ability to adopt spatialinformation technologies include:
(1) The rapid growth in population is not matched bygrowth in delivery of land for housing, services,utilities and infrastructure important to sustain areasonable quality of life. This is evident from thesprawl of informal settlements, increase in congestion,air and water pollution, poor and deterioratinginfrastructure, and dilapidated housing(Williamson, 1991).
(2) The growth of cities is dictated by market forcesrather than strategic planning. Urban developmentis often uncoordinated and land speculation pursuesquick financial gains. The suburban and ruralareas are invaded by market-induced developments.
(3) Laws and guidelines for land registration, planningand land management is diverse and oftenuncoordinated in developing countries. Thereasons are many and varied between differentcountries with different traditions and politicalstructures. Thus, the establishment of SDI cannotbe easily standardized for developing countries.
(4) Developed countries in general have moved froma prescriptive form of land use planning (e.g.Master Plan) towards a market oriented “spotzoning”approach conforming to environmentalguidelines. However prescriptive urban land useplanning is adopted in most of developing countries,resulting in long term land use and masterplans which are less market sensitive and consequentlyoften not followed.
(5) In order to cater for an urgent demand for housing,almost all cities in developing countries havea significant proportion of the population livingas squatters in slums or informal settlements. Asa result tenure and ownership is often obscuredand unregulated in the cities of developing countries with access to land and security of tenurebeing major problems. Planning and the managementof services is very poor or non existent in
these circumstances. Since these informal settlementsare a special phenomenon in cities of
developing countries, the strategies for managingcities in the developed world are inappropriate tothese circumstances.
(6) Unplanned developments make it difficult to provideutilities, while providing utilities at a laterstage is very costly. As a result of poor systemsfor land administration and either poor or nonexistent base mapping, city administrations usuallydo not know the location of existing services.It follows that efficient maintenance of servicesand infrastructure is almost impossible. Withoutproper land information, the acquisition of landfor public facilities or the undertaking of any cityplanning exercise is very cumbersome, if not
impossible.
(7) There is little or no spatial information infrastructure(and particularly large scale base maps). Thebiggest single barrier stopping the construction ofa spatial infrastructure is a lack of data. Otherlimitations include inefficient processes for purchasingspatial information or GIS technology;lack of skilled personnel to establish and managethe infrastructure; and lack of funding or politicalwill to support the construction of the infrastructure.
In addition to these specific characteristics, there is a growing expectation within the developed world, that cities in the developing world will meet externally prescribed standards in terms of environmental protection and working conditions. These external constraints imply improved information flow to administer effective plans for urban management, resource allocation and distribution (Lai, 1996). The lessons from the developed world are that to do any progressive planning of these cities it is necessary to develop a spatial information system which can be an efficient tool for management of their urban resources. The development of such spatial data infrastructures and the resulting GIS which can build upon them are considered an essential requirement for the cities of the developed world to improve their management. The status of SDIs in developing countries is summarized below.